Barcelona SC wins the Copa Libertadores after 18 years with an Ecuadorian coach; the canaries win in Lima

Guayaquil-born Jonathan Mejía became this Wednesday the first national coach to win a Copa Libertadores match at the helm of Barcelona Sporting Club, after 18 years. Ricardo Armendáriz was the last to do so. In addition, at 27 years old, Mejía set a record: he is the youngest bullfighting coach with a cup victory.

In the duel in which Barcelona SC beat Universitario de Deportes 1-0 in Lima, for the second round of the Libertadores preliminary phase, Mejía took the place of Fabián Bustos, who until the previous Saturday was the head coach of the bullfighters – a position he left to accept an offer from Santos de Brasil. The Argentine Jorge Célico will officially assume command in Barcelona SC this weekend in the visit to October 9, for the third day of the LigaPro.

Mejía was crowned champion of the 2020 LigaPro tournament as a video analyst for Bustos. The Guayaquil native, who began his professional career as a coach in the training divisions of Barcelona SC, had a football coaching title on his resume, and had former Canarian midfielder Segundo Alejandro Castillo as his assistant in Peru.

In the third round of the preliminary stage of the Cup, the last before the group stage, Barcelona will face the Brazilian América Mineiro, who eliminated Guaraní, from Paraguay.

Armendariz, in 2004

Before Mejía, Ricardo Armendáriz was the other Ecuadorian coach who won the Copa Libertadores with Barcelona. It was on February 12, 2004, at the Monumental stadium, with a 4-0 win over Bolivian Wilstermann, by Group 7. Armendáriz, appointed 48 hours earlier as interim coach, replaced the resigning Rubén Darío Insúa.

Pablo Ansaldo, in 1967

The first national coach who celebrated a victory with Barcelona in the Libertadores was Pablo Ansaldo Villacís, in 1967. On February 26 of that year, the bullfighters received Uruguay’s Nacional at the Modelo stadium. The Uruguayan Julio César Berrueta and Armando Goat Echeverría scored the goals for Barcelona, ​​which defeated Nacional 2-1. The discount was from the Brazilian Celio Taveira.

The yellows lined up in 1967, against those from Montevideo, with Francisco Barreiro; Walter Cardenas, Hector Abadie, Luciano Macias, Miguel Farmhouse Bustamante; Mario Zambrano, Berrueta (Felix Lasso), Jorge Baby Spin; Ruben Ponce de Leon, Enrique Raymondi, Echeverria. (D)